Door-fastener



(No Model.) I

W. H. PLIMPTON. DOOR FASTENER.

No. 605,809. I Patented June 14,1898.

' I III/I I A Ill/Q g7 4 tener.

UNITED STATES? PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER H. PLIMPTON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DOOR- FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,809, dated June 14, 1898.- Application filed February 21, 1898. Serial No. 671,025. the model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER H. PLIMPTON, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a simple and efficient device for securing a door in its closed position independently of the usual lock in such manner that the door cannot be opened from the outside.

The invention consists in the improved device which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective View of my improved door-fas- Fig. 2 represents a sectional View. of the same, together with sections of portions of the door and casing to which the device is applied.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both figures.

In the drawings, a represents a thin metal plate adapted to occupy the crevice between the swinging edge of a door 19 and the corresponding surface of the casing c. Projecting from one side of the plate a is a spur a,

formed to enter the bolt-receiving mortise oin the casing o.

(1 represents a screw-threaded shank which is formed on or affixed rigidly to the outer end of the plate a and is ofiset from the plane of the plate, as shown in Fig 2,, both the shank d and the spur a projecting from the same side of the plate.

e represents a head which is of semicylindrical form and has at one end a sleevee', which surrounds and is adapted to move upon the shank d. The head e is hollow, as shown in the drawings, its cavity or recess having a diameter exceeding the width of the plate a, so that said plate can extend into the head. The cavity; of the head is also made of sufficientdiameterto receive the projecting end of the usual striker-plate g, which is affixed to the casing. 'At the open end of the head 6 is a flange 6 which presents a flat outer face adapted to bear upon the inner side of the door I andupon the shoulder or face 0 on the casing o. Said flange is preferably provided with a facing of suitable yielding material, whereby it is prevented from indenting the door and casing. I

f represents a thumbmut which is engaged with the threaded portion of the shank d and is adapted to adjust the head e'endwise upon the shank by bearing against the sleeve e.

The operation of the device is as follows: The door being opened and the head e adjusted so that it is outside of the path of the door, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the plate a is placed against the casing with its spur to entering the mortise o. The door is then closed, confining the plate a between its swinging edge and the casing. The head e is then turned from the position shown in dotted lines and forced inwardly by the nut f until the flat face of its flange e bears simultaneously upon the door and upon the shoulder of the casing, said face partially surrounding the plate a, so that it has a bearing upon the door at one side of said plate and upon the casing at the opposite side, this double bearing preventing any torsional strain or pressure uponthe head in case an attempt is made to open the door. It will be seen that if the head e were formed to bear only upon the door its bearing would be wholly at one side of the plate a, so that pressure exerted upon the door would be exerted upon the head wholly at one side of the plate and would tend to tip the head to one side and thus bend the outer portion of the plate a, the latter being necessarily thin and relatively flexible. With the described construction, however, this result will be impossible. The extended bearing afforded by the fiat base of the flange e on the door and on the casing so distributes the pressure that there is no liability of indenting either the door or the casing at the points where the head bears upon these parts. These advantages are further insured by the offset construction of the plate and shank hereinbefore mentioned; The plate a extends from the shankd substantially in the line of one side of the shank, and the spur a projects from the plate so as to intersect the line of the center or axis of the shank. Hence any effort to open the door is resisted by the spur, said resistance being offered in the line of the axis of the shank and not at one side thereof. Therefore any opening pressure on the door has no tendency to 'door.

bond the thin plate. Furthermore, this same offset construction enables the device to be left secured to the casing without offering any obstruction to the opening of the door, this being often desired. When the head 6 is in the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, it may be clamped there by the nut f and the device will remain attached to the door-casing, whereas if the center of the shank (Z were in line with the plate a the de vice could not be securely attached so as to be out of the way of the door.

Owing to the offset construction above described the device may be used on a doorhaving the jamb facing in the same plane as the This is because when the head 6 is swung around to the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2 it may be braced against the door-casing, even if the latter is flush with the door, omitting the strip of molding, which is represented in Fig. 2. hen the head 0 is so turned, the sleeve c is not an obstruction to the opening or closing of the door, since said sleeve projects no farther into the path of the door than the plate a. Hence the device maybe left attached to the casing in this position.

I elaim A door-fastener comprising a thin plate formed to occupy the crevice between the swinging edge of a door and the easing thereof, and having at one side a spur formed to enter a recess in the casing, a screw-threaded shank affixed to said plate and offset therefrom, the shank being at the same side of the plate as the spur and the plate being substantially in line with one side of the shank, a recessed head movable on said shank, the recess of the head having a diameter exceeding the width of the plate, and a head-adjusting nut engaged with the shank, the said head having at its outer end a segmental flange which partially surrounds the plate and is formed to bear simultaneously on the door and on the casing, and said head being rotatable about the said plate in a plane at a right angle to the axis of the shank.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\VALTER ll. PLIMI"ON.

Witnesses:

C. F. Enowx, A. D. HARRISON. 

